Chapter Ninety-Six: Vindicated at Last

At that moment, thunderous applause and cheers rolled through the banquet hall of Beicheng International Hotel. Almost everyone had been moved by Fang Nian’s final act.

“I never expected this guy to be this strong, and to have such backbone too. Xia Ji has really brought honor to District 16 this time. This will probably spread before long, and the Xia family is bound to make a splash again because of this son-in-law. I don’t care about anyone else; I admire this brother. I’m donating another twenty thousand Hope Coins.”

“Right, exactly. This brother really is something: capable, decent, domineering without losing humility. Worth liking. Count me in too—I’m donating another twenty thousand Hope Coins, just for him.”

“Me too. I’ll donate fifty thousand Hope Coins.”

“I’ll give five thousand.”

The wave of donations surged once more. Everyone was singing Fang Nian’s praises, hailing him as the strongest rising star of the hunt, and the donation total was climbing at a dizzying pace.

In the backstage donation tally room, a middle-aged man with a slightly balding head was anxiously fussing over the ledger in his hands. As he worked, he shouted to the staff outside.

“Wang, hurry up and pull a few more people over from the company. There are too many donors—we can’t keep up. We have to sort out every donation record before the charity banquet ends, and then we still have to tabulate everything!”

“Jiang, get the total ranking for the first batch of donations done right away. They’re still waiting on it over there!”

“Zuo...”

Looking at this unprecedented spectacle and feeling the hunters’ joy on the screen, Jin Jindao quietly gave Fang Nian a thumbs-up. The praise did not mean that he had sincerely and completely accepted defeat to Fang Nian; it was simply the attitude he wanted to express.

“Housekeeper, go and donate one hundred thousand Hope Coins in the back. Count it as a donation for Jinhui.”

The silver-haired housekeeper looked at Jin Jindao, who seemed to have suddenly matured, and a trace of surprise flickered in his eyes. Still, he nodded and answered.

“Yes, Young Master.”

Xu Zhuo and Xu Lang sat in the Xu family’s section, looking a little out of place. Fang Nian had always been Xu Zhuo’s idol, and seeing his idol dominate the field naturally sent him into wild excitement, his hands and feet practically dancing with joy. But to Xu Lang, this was irritating beyond measure. Although he also admitted Fang Nian’s strength, he could not forget how Fang Nian had slapped him in the face.

“Enough. Can you be quiet for a moment? It’s just one hunting ground, and not even an especially difficult one. Is there any need to get this excited?”

Xu Zhuo turned to look at Xu Lang, still buzzing with excitement.

“Second Brother, you don’t know—I made a bet with Fatty Lord. If Brother Nian could carve his way through the hunting grounds and become the center of attention, then Fatty Lord would let me run the South City branch of Cloud Hunt Pavilion.”

Hearing this, Xu Lang only got angrier.

“What are you doing all day? We have so many businesses in the Xu family, and you insist on going with that loudmouthed fat bastard to manage some Cloud Hunt Pavilion. Are you stupid?”

Xu Zhuo had actually realized that Xu Lang no longer seemed nearly as frightening as before, and so he grew bolder when speaking to his second brother.

“Second Brother, you don’t understand. Fatty Lord really is a genius at running hunting ground camps. They’ve only been in District 16 for a short time, and they’ve already expanded Cloud Hunt Pavilion’s business across nearly all of District 16.”

“Anyway, I’ve made up my mind. As a hunter, with my intelligence, I’m probably not really suited for it. So I’ve decided to follow Fatty Lord. Becoming a business magnate doesn’t seem like a bad choice either, does it, Second Brother?”

Xu Lang’s face darkened so much it seemed water could drip from it. The more he looked at Xu Zhuo, the angrier he became, yet he could not even find a proper reason to vent that anger. In the end, he could only turn away and stew in his own frustration.

Compared with Xu Lang and Xu Zhuo, Xu Fan’s expression was the ugliest of all. He truly had not expected that before his people could even make a move, Fang Nian would once again teach him a lesson. It was nothing short of ironic.

But Xu Fan’s temperament was naturally far beyond what the other two could compare with. To him, Fang Nian standing high was not something to fear. On the contrary, he hoped Fang Nian could stand even higher, so that when he fell, the crash would be all the more severe.

“Boy, next time you won’t be so lucky. I’ll make you vanish from the hunting scene in District 16.”

At that moment, Xiao Xuefeng’s face was the blackest of all. Fang Nian had slapped him in the face so many times that it genuinely hurt. Now that this fellow had climbed to the very top, Xiao Xuefeng’s pride could not possibly accept it. He even lost the mood to curse out his employees and rose to leave.

But just as he stood up, the fatty seated among the Xia family’s people muttered loudly from the side.

“Well now, is President Xiao heading to the restroom? In such a hurry... got the runs?”

Xiao Xuefeng naturally recognized this newly risen nemesis in business. He glared at him and snapped.

“What did you say? Say it again if you’ve got the guts.”

The fatty immediately put on a look of mock innocence and said to Xiao Xuefeng,

“Hey, President Xiao, that’s not very reasonable of you. There’s still a charity auction later tonight, after all. I heard President Xiao has made quite a bit of money recently, so whatever you bring out to donate must be worth a fortune. On behalf of the refugees outside the fortress, I should really thank President Xiao for that.”

Xiao Xuefeng’s face was dark as water. At this point, the fatty was even more detestable than Fang Nian in his eyes. He truly did not know what sin he had committed to run into these two men.

Since the fatty had already said as much, and since the Xiao family was one of the most prominent families in District 16, they naturally could not afford to lose face. Though it pained them, there was no helping it—they had to bleed a little. So Xiao Xuefeng lowered his voice and said to the dogleg beside him,

“Go get that thing. We’ll donate it for auction tonight.”

The lackey froze, then looked at Xiao Xuefeng in astonishment.

“President Xiao, are you really going to bring out that item? If the old man finds out...”

Smack.

A loud slap rang out, and the lackey instantly lost his nerve. Deflated, he nodded.

“Yes. I’ll go get it right away.”

With that, he turned and left.

Xiao Xuefeng glared darkly toward the Xia family’s section.

“Damn it. Looks like today I have to teach you poor fools what real wealth actually looks like.”

The Xia family’s side was, by all rights, the most jubilant. Wei Jianshe’s smile was so bright it could not be described in words. By now, he had no idea how many cups of liquor he had downed, and he was almost moved to tears.

“Brothers, my dear brothers, our Xia family has finally turned the tables. For years now, ever since that incident happened, our Xia family has been suppressed by the others. And now, at last, we can hold our heads high again. I thank all of you, I thank President Xia even more, and I thank our esteemed President Fang all the more. If not for him, we could never have done this.”

As he spoke, Wei Jianshe raised the full cup of strong liquor in his hand and was about to drink it down in one gulp. But at that very moment, a somewhat weak voice suddenly rang out.

“Drinking and not waiting for me?”